FINDING TRAVEL INSURANCE THAT COVERS PEOPLE WITH MEDICAL CONDITIONS

Dear Friends,
I came across this nugget on the net. I really thought it worthwhile to share this British article with you.

"Last November, the UK's Genetics and Insurance Committee held a meeting on Family History, Genetics and Insurance, which included presentations providing advice to people with a serious medical condition on buying insurance. This article deals with buying travel insurance if you are affected by a genetic condition, or indeed any long-term medical condition. Finding the right travel insurance policy can be more difficult if you have been diagnosed with a serious health condition. This need not be a major worry, as insurance will be available in almost all cases, but you do need to make sure you shop around with the right insurers. People diagnosed with health conditions will, however, find they usually pay more for travel insurance than people with no serious health issues. This is because they typically present insurers with a higher likelihood of making an expensive medical-related claim. Travel insurers are not concerned with your genetic susceptibility to health conditions and will not ask for the results of predictive genetic screening before selling you a policy. But they do need to know if you have an actual diagnosis of illness. Travel insurance is designed principally to help you pay for emergency medical help while abroad, which is by far the most costly risk people typically face when travelling, and the reason you pay more for cover if you present a higher medical risk. The figures below from the Foreign Office website illustrate the typical costs of getting you home to the UK after a medical emergency:
£30-35,000: Air ambulance from East coast of USA
£15-20,000: Ordinary scheduled flight with doctor escort from Australia
£12-16,000: Air ambulance from Canaries
£10-12,000: Air ambulance from Balearics
£3-£6,000: Ordinary scheduled flight, with stretcher and Doctor escort from Mediterranean
£1,200-3,000: Air taxi (light aircraft) from Northern France
So, in spite of the higher cost you can pay if you have an illness, travel insurance is still well worth buying. The costs of emergency help are high in places that do not offer free health care, such as North America, but even in Europe, emergency medical repatriation to the UK can cost thousands.It is also the case that not all insurers are able to provide cover to
people with serious conditions, such as active cancers. This is because they will not have the right experience in underwriting these risks. In these cases, you will need to contact one of the many specialist insurers on the market.
Here are some useful tips on finding insurance if you have a medical condition:
- Don't always rely on the mass-market insurers, or tour operators that sell insurance as part of a package holiday. Some of these won't be able to cover medical conditions, especially very serious ones.
- Go to specialists - more and more insurers have specialist knowledge of medical conditions and can offer you cover. Some companies specifically market to people with pre-existing medical conditions.
- Shop around - insurance policies differ on both cover and price, so compare the quotes you receive to find the best deal.
- If you have any problems trying to find specialist insurers, use a broker.
They can do the work for you. You can contact a broker through the British Insurance Brokers Association, who host a website and a dedicated customer helpline: Telephone: 090 1814 0015; Email: enquiries@biba.org.uk
The most important thing to remember if you have a medical condition is not to leave insurance until the last minute: make it a key part of your travelling plans and shop around with the right providers to get the best deal.
- Sean Worth, UK Association of British Insurers